Which Bass for sessions? Fender?

[Tom Paterson]

Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at <alt.guitar.bass>
about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift (surprise
surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference for
Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

[Dave Martin]

"Tom Paterson" <dustoyevsky@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20030817091307.05395.00000155@mb-m16.aol.com...
> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at
<alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift
(surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference
for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

To start with, you have to remember that the 'electric bass' sound was
created by a Fender bass. Many of us remember when "Fender Bass" was the
generic term for electric bass, and "Bass" meant an upright bass. And it's
such a recognizable sound that for many people, if it doesn't sound like a
Fender, something is wrong.

--
Dave Martin
Java Jive Studio
Nashville, TN
www.javajivestudio.com

[BlacklineMusic]

Fender P Bass with Duncan Pickups.

[Artie Turner]

Tom Paterson wrote:
> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at <alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift (surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

Leo Fender is widely regarded as the originator of the electric bass.
There were others who tinkered around with basses and pickups, but Leo
Fender made it famous. For a long time, ANY electric bass was called a
Fender bass regardless of who made it. Sort of like any paper copy used
to be a "Xerox" copy.

So, Fender basses were the bass of choice for many of the innovators,
like James Jamerson, Chuck Rainey, Carol Kaye, and others. The
originators spawned a new generation of bassists who wanted to sound
like the old pros, so they too bought Fenders. The preference for Fender
is mostly brand recognition, sort of like Harley-Davidson with motorcycles.

Are there other brands out there with better quality than Fender? You
betcha. How much do you want to pay? The sky's the limit.

But the bottom line - pun intended - is this: it's the player who makes
the tone and the groove, not the bass. A great player with a cheap
Mexican P-bass and a DI will always sound better than some inexperienced
gear-freak with an active 6-string graphite neck-through with an exotic
pre-amp and a tri-amped mega-watt rig - given the right engineer of course.

AT

[Paul Bawol]

Having played most of the other old classic basses, I would never hesitate
to use my P-bass for a session, especially if I were in a hurry to plug and
play. Even though other basses might play easier or sound better in a
specific situation...

....Paul

--
************************************************** ********
"In the analog realm, it ain't "OVER" 'til it's over."


"Tom Paterson" <dustoyevsky@aol.comnospam> wrote in message
news:20030817091307.05395.00000155@mb-m16.aol.com...
> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at
<alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift
(surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference
for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

[Andrew M.]

I prefer Music Man basses if I can get them. Fenders are great, don't
get me wrong, but I prefer the Music Man.

Tom Paterson wrote:
> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at <alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift (surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

[EganMedia]

If I had to spec one bass for the rest of the R&R recordings I do it would
probably be a Music Man Stingray. If I couldn't have that, I'd take a Fender
Jazz bass. Barring that, a Precision would fit the bill too. Of course,
they'd all be played by a great player right?



Joe Egan
EMP
Colchester, VT
www.eganmedia.com

[meriphew]

Spend a little bit of cash on a Fender Custom Shop P-Bass and you'll
be a happy camper.

_____________________
Post indie electronic
Meriphew
http://www.meriphew.com

[David Morgan \(MAMS\)]

"Tom Paterson" <dustoyevsky@aol.comnospam> wrote in message news:20030817091307.05395.00000155@mb-m16.aol.com...
> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at <alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift (surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

Fender Precision, Fender Jazz... great tone, hard to make sound bad.

--
David Morgan (MAMS)
http://www.m-a-m-s.com
http://www.artisan-recordingstudio.com

[Peter Kaersaa]

In article <lYP%a.112429$wk4.20328@twister.nyroc.rr.com>,
andrewm@rochester.rr.com says...
> I prefer Music Man basses if I can get them. Fenders are great, don't
> get me wrong, but I prefer the Music Man.

I second that.
It's very easy to get a good sound in no time.
But to be honest my Yamaha TRB sounds even better.
Maybe I should take a look on that Bartolini replacement pickup
again.... arghh.. bass players I hate them :)


--
/ Peter Kaersaa

[Sugarite]

> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at
<alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift
(surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference
for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

Anyone recommending a new Fender instead of a new G&L should be dragged into
the street and shot. Note I didn't say "vintage Fender", since vintage is
vintage and shouldn't be compared.

Regardless, the best studio bass I've had my mitts on was a '63 Gibson
hollow-body (never got the model #, was like an ES335 guitar). There's
guitars and basses that sound great, then there's ones with so much feel and
tone they bring out the player's best as if they have a soul of their own.
That Gibson was absolute magic.

"...my preciousssssss..."

[Darrell Klein]

Most people prefer the familiar. Fender was first, became familair and
is widely accepted.

I own and play a Fender Jazz, a Carvin, a Gibson Les Paul Triumph and
a Harmony H22. My preference changes from week to week, but generally
(for me; YMMV) the Harmony and Les Paul are easiest to play and are
harder to get a good recorded sound with. No surprise, they are both
short scale.

The Carvin is the best gigging axe and the Fender records best (if you
have both single coil pick-ups cranked wide open).

If a live gig is being recorded, I go with the Carvin. In the studio,
I usually use the Fender.

[chetatkinsdiet]

I've been sort of going bass crazy lately, buying in recent months a
78 Music Man Sabre, 80 G&L L2000E and 81 L1000, as well as an 80s
Fender Precision, 69 Gibson EB0, a 59 Dano & 70s Fender Mustang too.
They're all great and do different things...especially the Music Man
and G&L with the active electronics...they can just about get any
sound with some tinkering. But, the Precision is always going to
sound decent and is easy to get a good sound with. It's sort of the
SM57 of the bass world. It might not be the best, but will always be
good. Just to add...that's amped or direct, in my opinion. Some of
the others don't always sound their best going direct only.
later,
m

[Rob Adelman]

chetatkinsdiet wrote:

> But, the Precision is always going to
> sound decent and is easy to get a good sound with. It's sort of the
> SM57 of the bass world. It might not be the best, but will always be
> good. Just to add...that's amped or direct, in my opinion.

Yup, I was fortunate enough to get mine when I was 12 and I still play
it. And now just plugged into my Bass Pod, it sounds better than ever.

-Rob

[tomhartman]

Rob Adelman <radelman@mn.rr.com> wrote in message news:<hvT%a.110054$6a3.3645012@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com>...
> chetatkinsdiet wrote:
>
> > But, the Precision is always going to
> > sound decent and is easy to get a good sound with. It's sort of the
> > SM57 of the bass world. It might not be the best, but will always be
> > good. Just to add...that's amped or direct, in my opinion.
>
> Yup, I was fortunate enough to get mine when I was 12 and I still play
> it. And now just plugged into my Bass Pod, it sounds better than ever.
>
> -Rob


Despite what an earlier poster said, there are no better basses than a
Fender. There are DIFFERENT sounding basses, but not better. You can
buy basses with exotic woods and preamps built in, etc, etc, and they
still don't sound any BETTER on a recording than a Fender. There are
times when a Fender, at least a P bass, is not the right SOUND for the
song, a basses with a little less edge to them might fit the bill
better, but this gets into the same area as why a guy uses a Les Paul
or a Strat or a Tele on a given song.

If you got called for a session the safest bass to bring would be a
Fender. Most records in the 60s (you know, the ones we keep raving
about up here) were cut with a P bass. Ask Carol Kaye.

Today, you still see Fenders everywhere. I liked the sound of a song
by a group called PILLAR, a heavy alternate cut, and got in touch with
the bass player to ask him what it was. "Fender 5 string Jazz bass,
this is rock'nroll" he smiled. So Sixties or 2003, they just keep on
going . Fender is the energizer bunny of rock'n'roll.

[meriphew]

>
> Anyone recommending a new Fender instead of a new G&L should be dragged into
> the street and shot. Note I didn't say "vintage Fender", since vintage is
> vintage and shouldn't be compared.
>
> Regardless, the best studio bass I've had my mitts on was a '63 Gibson
> hollow-body (never got the model #, was like an ES335 guitar). There's
> guitars and basses that sound great, then there's ones with so much feel and
> tone they bring out the player's best as if they have a soul of their own.
> That Gibson was absolute magic.
>
> "...my preciousssssss..."

I have a '96 Fender Jazz bass and a G&L ASAT bass, and the Fender
beats out the G&L 90% of the time.


_____________________
Post indie electronic
Meriphew
http://www.meriphew.com

[TAPKAE]

Man, if I could know for sure what bass Kevin Gilbert used on Thud
(specifically on Goodness Gracious--a wonderfully thick sounding gurgle on
tat song), it would help me sleep at night. I've seen pix of him with a
Music Man. I think he must have had some ancient tube pre inline too.




-- TAPKAE
http://tapkae.com

"We're the cleanup crew for parties we were too young to attend"
(Kevin Gilbert)

[Lou Gimenez]

Sadowsky makes a 5 string jazz bass that is the best bass I've recorded.
--Lou Gimenez
The Music Lab
2" 24track w all the Goodies
www.musiclabnyc.com



> From: dustoyevsky@aol.comnospam (Tom Paterson)
> Organization: AOL http://www.aol.com
> Newsgroups: rec.audio.pro
> Date: 17 Aug 2003 13:13:07 GMT
> Subject: Which Bass for sessions? Fender?
>
> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at <alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift (surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

[John Noll]

Tom Paterson wrote:
> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at <alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift (surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

For a walk right in, plug it in and play situation you can't beat a
P-bass. Very even tone and volume balance. The Music Man is pretty solid
also. Ricks never sound right to me. The old Dan Electro longhorns are
pretty cool.

There'a a guy who comes in here once in a while with a Carl Thompson
custom handmade bass. He's had it since the seventies. That thing has a
really incredible tone.

One thing I've noticed with a lot of kids in rock bands using cheap
basses is the fact that it sounds like there's only one note coming out
at all times like a drone or an extreme singular overtone. Really drony
and unmusical. Anyone else ever experience this?

--
--
John Noll
Retromedia Sound Studios
Red Bank, NJ 07701

Phone: 732-842-3853 Fax: 732-842-5631

http://www.retromedia.net

[Jeff Maher]

> For a walk right in, plug it in and play situation you can't beat a
> P-bass. Very even tone and volume balance. The Music Man is pretty solid
> also. Ricks never sound right to me. The old Dan Electro longhorns are
> pretty cool.
>
> There'a a guy who comes in here once in a while with a Carl Thompson
> custom handmade bass. He's had it since the seventies. That thing has a
> really incredible tone.
>
> One thing I've noticed with a lot of kids in rock bands using cheap
> basses is the fact that it sounds like there's only one note coming out
> at all times like a drone or an extreme singular overtone. Really drony
> and unmusical. Anyone else ever experience this?

Yes. The worst offenders I've encountered are those Ibanez Soundgear
basses. Blech. A G or G# on the low E string seems to combine with that
"drone" and sounds about twice as loud as any other note on the whole damn
bass! I mean way to loud to reasonably control with compression. I've
always attributed this to body resonance (just a guess) and have yet to find
any "cure" other than learning the song and manually ducking the fader
whenever those notes appear. Never had any similar problems with Fender, G
& L, or my personal fave, Music Man.

Jeff Maher
Garage Mahal Recording
Austin, TX

[nuke]

<< I have a '96 Fender Jazz bass and a G&L ASAT bass, and the Fender
beats out the G&L 90% of the time. >><BR><BR>

Yeah, I have a G&L ASAT that's just killer sounding. It's perhaps too killer
sounding and distinctive. Fantastic bass in every way.

The only thing I don't like about it is it being a bit "neck heavy" or perhaps
body-light is it. It's got a swamp ash body that's very light and resonant. The
strap button just doesn't balance it out very well though.

I find myself playing my cheap-ass Fender JP-90 more, just because it is
comfortable to hang around my neck. Sounds like crap though. But heck, whoever
says, "man that bass player has crappy tone." As long as it thumps and you hit
the right notes, pretty much everyone is happy.

Nobody ever lost a gig by showing up with a Jazz Bass.


--
Dr. Nuketopia
Sorry, no e-Mail.
Spam forgeries have resulted in thousands of faked bounces to my address.

[Jay - atldigi]

In article <aaabf3ce.0308171700.77216c3f@posting.google.com>,
malpasoman@cs.com (meriphew) wrote:

> >
> > Anyone recommending a new Fender instead of a new G&L should be dragged
> > into the street and shot. Note I didn't say "vintage Fender", since
> > vintage is vintage and shouldn't be compared.

>
> I have a '96 Fender Jazz bass and a G&L ASAT bass, and the Fender
> beats out the G&L 90% of the time.
>

I've played and/or recorded a couple of the newer Fenders that were just
fabulous. Then again, far more new ones aren't so great, but you can
still find a good one with a little bit of searching. At the same time,
some of the so called vintage ones aren't great either, but the serious
classics do tend to be the older ones. Apart from the Fender Jazz, I
also agree with other posters that the Music Mans are a good choice.
P-Bass is a sound that's good when that sound is called for, but not as
versatile. Others seem to be hit or miss and obviously player dependent.
I've recorded a killer older Tobias (in some special hands too) and had
a pretty good Lakland come my way as well.

--
Jay Frigoletto
Mastersuite
Los Angeles
promastering.com

[Jason McClelland]

"Jeff Maher" <jeffmaher@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:RJZ%a.7324$Nf3.4496@newsread4.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> Yes. The worst offenders I've encountered are those Ibanez Soundgear
> basses. Blech. A G or G# on the low E string seems to combine with that
> "drone" and sounds about twice as loud as any other note on the whole damn
> bass!

If they have a cheap bass, they probably have never taken the time to
properly set it up, or paid someone to see it up and adjust the action for
them. Maybe the cheap bass companies even set the E string lower to make it
boomier, thinking that these kids want a boomy bass guitar, who knows?

~j

[BigUn]

I've got a 96-97 active Fender Jazz and dropped a set of Bartolini pickups
in it. Best-sounding bass I've ever touched, bar none.



"meriphew" <malpasoman@cs.com> wrote in message
news:aaabf3ce.0308171700.77216c3f@posting.google.c om...
> >
> > Anyone recommending a new Fender instead of a new G&L should be dragged
into
> > the street and shot. Note I didn't say "vintage Fender", since vintage
is
> > vintage and shouldn't be compared.
> >
> > Regardless, the best studio bass I've had my mitts on was a '63 Gibson
> > hollow-body (never got the model #, was like an ES335 guitar). There's
> > guitars and basses that sound great, then there's ones with so much feel
and
> > tone they bring out the player's best as if they have a soul of their
own.
> > That Gibson was absolute magic.
> >
> > "...my preciousssssss..."
>
> I have a '96 Fender Jazz bass and a G&L ASAT bass, and the Fender
> beats out the G&L 90% of the time.
>
>
> _____________________
> Post indie electronic
> Meriphew
> http://www.meriphew.com

[Guitarboy]

In article <OZ50b.2228$JT6.151335052@newssvr13.news.prodigy.co m>, Jason
McClelland <jasonm76@pacbell.net> wrote:

> "Jeff Maher" <jeffmaher@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:RJZ%a.7324$Nf3.4496@newsread4.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> > Yes. The worst offenders I've encountered are those Ibanez Soundgear
> > basses. Blech. A G or G# on the low E string seems to combine with that
> > "drone" and sounds about twice as loud as any other note on the whole damn
> > bass!
>
> If they have a cheap bass, they probably have never taken the time to
> properly set it up, or paid someone to see it up and adjust the action for
> them. Maybe the cheap bass companies even set the E string lower to make it
> boomier, thinking that these kids want a boomy bass guitar, who knows?
>
> ~j
>
>
Different basses for different jobs. a fender bass set up with P-J
pickups is most versatile. Precision gives you that duck dunn jamie
jamerson jerry jermot gordon edwards kind of thng and a jazz bass
gives you more of the jaco thing. now for super hi end boinking the
music man is the one as well as a gibson ripper. they have that super
sharp attack. a sadowsky is really just an incredibly well built fender
perfectly set up with great electronics. well worth it. the other ones
(the hi tech ones) have their use too the stanley clarke alembic sound.
there you have it. of course theres the chris squire rickenbacher sound
and all sorts of variations. but 90 % of the time a nice p-j bass will
do it.

[Dave Martin]

"Guitarboy" <Guitarboy@stringalong.com> wrote in message
news:180820031908342711%Guitarboy@stringalong.com. ..

> Different basses for different jobs. a fender bass set up with P-J
> pickups is most versatile.

This is a place where my mileage varies; I had a Fender made with a P and a
J, and it didn't sound like either one. These days I carry both a P bass
and a Jazz to sessions (along with a few more 5 and 6 string
instruments...).

--
Dave Martin
Java Jive Studio
Nashville, TN
www.javajivestudio.com

[Jason McClelland]

"Dave Martin" <dmainc@earthlink.net> wrote in message
news:bhs7i3$2jsos$1@ID-190397.news.uni-berlin.de...
> "Guitarboy" <Guitarboy@stringalong.com> wrote in message
> news:180820031908342711%Guitarboy@stringalong.com. ..
>
> > Different basses for different jobs. a fender bass set up with P-J
> > pickups is most versatile.
>
> This is a place where my mileage varies; I had a Fender made with a P and
a
> J, and it didn't sound like either one. These days I carry both a P bass
> and a Jazz to sessions (along with a few more 5 and 6 string
> instruments...).

I concur- a PJ bass sounded like it would be my dream configuration, like
chocolate and peanut butter. For some reason, the ones I have tried out
have not been as great as the individual P and J basses. The search
continues!

~j

[Darryl]

"Jason McClelland" <jasonm76@pacbell.net> wrote in message
news:OZ50b.2228$JT6.151335052@newssvr13.news.prodi gy.com...
> "Jeff Maher" <jeffmaher@earthlink.net> wrote in message
> news:RJZ%a.7324$Nf3.4496@newsread4.news.pas.earthl ink.net...
> > Yes. The worst offenders I've encountered are those Ibanez Soundgear
> > basses. Blech. A G or G# on the low E string seems to combine with
that
> > "drone" and sounds about twice as loud as any other note on the whole
damn
> > bass!
>
> If they have a cheap bass, they probably have never taken the time to
> properly set it up, or paid someone to see it up and adjust the action for
> them. Maybe the cheap bass companies even set the E string lower to make
it
> boomier, thinking that these kids want a boomy bass guitar, who knows?
>
> ~j
>
>

I agree. I had a cheap-o p-bass copy that boomed on the G & G#. Had it set
up (neck had to be re-shimmed) and the boom was gone. It actually sounded
decent afterwards.

Darryl

[Joe User]

Tom Paterson wrote, On 8/17/2003 6:13 AM:

> Question from the peanut gallery: There's a thread going at <alt.guitar.bass>
> about basses for studio work. It has taken a pro/con Fender drift (surprise
> surprise). Any thoughts on what's what with a noted "universal" preference for
> Fender over other brands? TIA --Tom Paterson

Is Schecter a bad word around here? I've heard very good reviews on the
Stiletto series. I'm a guitar player and am looking for a
not-too-expensive bass for recording. Thoughts on the Schecters?

-Joe